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Today, a jury ruled against the chemical company Monsanto, awarding $289 million in damages to Dewayne Johnson, a former school groundskeeper who said he got terminal cancer from Monsanto’s best-selling weedkiller Roundup.

Faye Park, President of U.S. PIRG, which has mounted a multi-year campaign to ban Roundup, issued the following statement:

“We've been asking Monsanto to take proper responsibility for its product for years. We've been asking the EPA to step in where Monsanto hasn't been willing to. We're heartened that this jury took this opportunity to step in where they both have failed.

“This is not only a victory for Dewayne Johnson, but also for consumers everywhere.

“The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said the key ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, is "probably carcinogenic to humans.”

“Even with this finding against Monsanto, Roundup is still the most prevalent agrichemical in use -- from our neighborhood lawns to huge industrial farms. It's a probable carcinogen that most of us come into contact with every day.

“Now is the time for the federal government to finally take action to help save the health of the next Dewayne Johnson.”